Cucumber, Picklebush

Burpee bred Picklebush has unbelievably compact vines that get only 2' long. White-spined fruits have classic pickle look, deep green with paler stripes. Up to 4 1/2" long, 1 1/2" across at maturity but use them at any size. Very productive and tolerant to powdery mildew and Cucumber mosaic virus.

Type
Some flowers and vegetables fall into subcategories that may define how they grow (such as pole or bush), what they are used for (such as slicing tomatoes or shelling peas), flower type, or other designations that will help you select the type of a class of plant that you are looking for.

Pickling

Days To Maturity
The average number of days from when the plant is actively growing in the garden to the expected time of harvest.

52 days

Fruit Size
The average size of the fruit produced by this product.

4 inches

Sun
The amount of sunlight this product needs daily in order to perform well in the garden. Full sun means 6 hours of direct sun per day; partial sun means 2-4 hours of direct sun per day; shade means little or no direct sun.

Start IndoorsStart Indoors
Starting seeds indoors is called Indoor Sow or Indirect Sow and these dates are when to sow seeds indoors in the spring or summer

TransplantTransplant
When to transplant bulbs or roots in the garden for spring

Start OutdoorsStart Outdoors
Starting seeds outdoors is called Outdoor Sow or Direct Sow and these dates are when to sow seeds outdoors in the spring or summer

Start Indoors FallStart Indoors Fall
Starting seeds indoors in the fall called Indoor Sow or Indirect Sow and these dates are when to sow seeds outdoors in the fall

Transplant FallTransplant Fall
Transplant Fall-When to transplant bulbs or roots in the garden for fall

Start Outdoors FallStart Outdoors Fall
Starting seeds outdoors in the fall is called Outdoor Sow or Direct Sow and these dates are when to sow seeds outdoors in the fall

SS
Succession Planting
This means that the plants have multiple harvests in a season

First Date: May-16 - Last Date: Jun-13

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Growing information

How to Sow and Plant

Sowing Seed Indoors:

Direct sowing is recommended, but to get a head start you can grow cucumbers indoors 3-4 weeks before the last frost in individual biodegradable pots indoors. Sow 2-3 seeds per pot.

Sow seeds ½ inches deep in seed-starting formula

Keep the soil moist at 70 degrees F

Seedlings emerge in 7-14 days

As soon as seedlings emerge, provide plenty of light on a sunny windowsill or grow seedlings 3-4 inches beneath fluorescent plant lights turned on 16 hours per day, off for 8 hours at night. Raise the lights as the plants grow taller. Incandescent bulbs will not work for this process because they will get too hot. Most plants require a dark period to grow, do not leave lights on for 24 hours.

Seedlings do not need much fertilizer, feed when they are 3-4 weeks old using a starter solution (half strength of a complete indoor houseplant food) according to manufacturer’s directions.

Thin to one plant per pot.

Before planting in the garden, seedling plants need to be “hardened off”. Accustom young plants to outdoor conditions by moving them to a sheltered place outside for a week. Be sure to protect them from wind and hot sun at first. If frost threatens at night, cover or bring containers indoors, then take them out again in the morning. This hardening off process toughens the plant’s cell structure and reduces transplant shock and scalding.

Sowing Directly in the Garden:

Sow in directly in the garden in fertile, warm soil after danger of frost has passed. Cucumber seeds will not germinate in soil colder than 60 degrees.

Thin to 3 or 4 strongest seedlings in each group when they are 1-2 inches high.

How to Grow

Keep weeds under control during the growing season. Weeds compete with plants for water, space and nutrients, so control them by either cultivating often or use a mulch to prevent their seeds from germinating.

Cucumbers have a shallow root system, mulches help retain soil moisture and maintain even soil temperatures.

Keep plants well-watered during the growing season, especially during dry spells. Plants need about 1-2 inches of rain per week during the growing season. Use a rain gauge to check to see if you need to add water. It's best to water with a drip or trickle system that delivers water at low pressure at the soil level. If you water with overhead sprinklers, water early in the day so the foliage has time to dry off before evening, to minimize disease problems. Keep the soil moist but not saturated.

As plants grow mulch to control weeds, keep fruits off the ground and conserve moisture

Do not move the vines, they are easily injured.

Monitor for pests and diseases. Check with your local Cooperative Extension Service for pest controls recommended for your area.

When cucumber seeds are direct-sown along a cucumber fence, vines can be trained to grow upright for easy picking and to save space for other plants to grow. Good companion vegetable plants are direct-sown radishes, bush snap beans, and transplants of compact herbs, peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. Attract bee pollinators by planting daisies such as sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias and coneflower, and mints such as bee balm, sage, oregano and lavender. More bees mean more chances flowers will be pollinated and develop into fruits.

Harvest & Preserving

Like most vegetables, cucumbers are tender and tastiest when harvested young before their seeds are fully developed.

Slicing cucumber varieties are generally ready for harvest when about six to eight inches long; pickling cucumber types at three to five inches- both in about 50-60 days from seeding.

To avoid damage cut fruit from the vine rather than pull

Don't allow the fruits to become overripe on the vine as this signals to the plant that the seed-development process is nearly complete and it will shut down.

Keep mature cucumber fruits picked to encourage further production. During hot weather cucumbers grow very fast, you may need to harvest every day.

Harvest the cucumber fruits early in the morning before the sun hits them for the best flavor and texture.

Product Details

Type

Pickling

Days To Maturity

52 days

Fruit Size

4 inches

Sun

Full Sun

Spread

24 inches

Height

6-8 inches

Sow Method

Direct Sow

Planting Time

Spring, Summer

Sow Time

After Last Frost

Thin

24 inches

Reviews

Cucumber, Picklebush is rated
3.7 out of
5 by
39.

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Backyard Warrior from
Did well in 12" PotsThese cucs started off slow but ended up doing really well for us! 4-5" fruits and loads of blossoms. Will buy again!

Date published: 2017-08-03

Rated 3 out of
5 by
JPurdy from
Not right for me, but might be for you!'Super compact' is certainly right! I thought two feet sounded about perfect for me to sit and tend the vines, but they haven't gotten anywhere NEAR that tall. Most of them are right around 7-8 inches tall, just barely tall enough to cling to the first 'rung' of my lattice. In fact they are SO compact, that my pollinators (mostly larger bumblebees) have trouble getting to/into the flowers, so I get only partially pollinated cukes, leading to funky little cucumber 'globes' instead of pretty little 'pickle' shapes... and they're mostly white, because they get little sun through the solid mat of leaves. For my first year having a 'real', in-the-ground garden, they were rather disappointing.
That said, for someone who is really limited on space - an apartment balcony, or even inside under grow lights - these guys would be a great option for actually being able to have some fresh cucumbers for salads or even enough for making your own pickles without needing insane amounts of soil and trellis space. For their size, they put out an amazing amount of fruit. Be prepared to hand pollinate, though.

Date published: 2017-07-07

Rated 5 out of
5 by
lost95 from
EXCELLENTAmazing taste. Would recommend. You will keep coming back for more. Very juicy. The only draw back is short life span and Had to Hand Pollinate the flowers due to not enough bees.

Date published: 2017-06-28

Rated 1 out of
5 by
bettyalley from
Just flowers no fruitI planted seeds in the ground and in a container they look great many flowers but they don't become cucumbers is there something missing I use potting soil I am very frustrated I have been gardening since I was a child and I'm 72 now where's the cukes?

Date published: 2017-05-16

Rated 4 out of
5 by
JoshCC600 from
Good producer but with issuesGrowing my second season of these now in Florida. Both times nearly 95% of the seeds sprout, grow to about four inches then stop growing for about two or three weeks then grow to the 2' length fast and produce heavily. Eventually I lost my crop last season to pickle worm infestation and only had minor case of powdery mildew on some plans. Overall a amazing tasting and pickle cucumber.

Date published: 2016-09-14

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Wannabe Botanist from
Prolific Pickles!These cucumbers take up very little space and produce like crazy. They taste good at any size too. We are making tons of the best tasting pickles I've ever had.

Date published: 2016-08-20

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Schnee from
Not a Bitter one in the bunchGranted we had a wet spring/early summer in 2015 (Maryland), but these were prolific and none were bitter. The plants are more compact. They seemed resistant to disease, eventually succumbing after giving LOTS of Cucumbers. Fantastic slicing cucumber for salads!

Date published: 2016-03-18

Rated 1 out of
5 by
ChefJack from
Germinated well, did not grow after plantedI was looking forward to picking my own Picklebush cucumbers this year instead of buying them from sources unfamiliar to me. These germinated beautifully, I let them grow a bit in pots to make them strong to fend off the nasty cucumber beetle. They did not do well at all, they grew no bigger than 2 feet and produced only 4 cucumbers before they a suddenly died. I planted regular sized cucumbers and they have been producing for over a month now..so many I have been giving them away..some have reached to an amazing 2ft long..I don't know what happened but I won't be making any homemade pickles this year..I'm not sure if I will try these again next year...